High voltage disconnecting switch



March 4 v A..E'. BROCK EIAL 5, 53

men VOLTAGE mscommwme swmcn Filed Jan. 2, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l 5o INVENTOR. M,

March 1-8, 1941. A. E. BROCK ETAL HIGH VOLTAGE DISCONNECTING SWITCH Filed Jan. 2. 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a. In.

'INVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 1a, 1941 PATENT OFFICE men vouracn mscomcmc swrrcu Arnold E. Brock, Burliugame. and Ernest H. Gremmingcr, Mill Valley, Calif., asslgnors to Pacific Electric Manufacturing Corporation, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation California Application January 2, 1940, Serial No. 312,046

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to air break switch apparatus and more particularly to disconnecting switches of 'the outdoor type used in sectionalizing and interrupting high potential electrical transmission lines.

An object of the invention is to provide an im: proved high voltage circuit interrupting switch and operating means therefor which may be adapted for use on single and multiphase electric power transmission lines, where it is desired to sectionalize the transmission line or to connect or disconnect a branch circuit at points of intersection with the main power line, as at a substation.

Anotherobject of the invention isto provide an improved operating means for a disconnecting switch of the above character in which the position of the switch blade is at all times positive] controlled by its operating mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to .provide a high contact pressure producing mechanism for disconnecting switches that is adapted to be operated by the switch blade operating mechanism 2 when the switch blade has been moved into cooperating relation with its stationary contact.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and novel form of switch blade controlling and contact pressure producing mechanism in which the switch blade operating mechanism will be rendered operative to actuate the contact pressure producing mechanism when the switch has been moved into its circuit closed position without imparting a further closing movement to the 35 switch blade.

Switches of the character contemplated by this invention are generally mounted in the open where, in cold climates, they are subjected to the accumulation of ice and snow which may interfere with their successful operation. Therefore, it is another object of the invention to provide a switch blade of improved construction having relatively movable parts out of contact with a stationary cooperating clip which will serve to end of the switch blade when the switch bladeis in its closed circuit position.

With the above and other objects in view, the

present invention contemplates a special form of thestationary contact after the switch blade has been moved into its final circuit closed position, 10 andwhich will also function to dislodge any adcumula'ted ice and at the same time relieve the high contact pressure between the switch blade and the stationary contact before it becomes op erative to move the switch blade into its open circuit position. L

For a better understanding of the invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawings, wherein there is shown by way of iilustration and not or limitation, preferred em- 20 bodlments thereof.

In the drawings: v

Figure l is a side elevation of a single pole disconnecting switch constructed in accordance with this invention, I

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view with parts broken away and in section showing the operating portions of the switch illustrated in Figure l of the drawings,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side view, partially in section, of the svntch as illustrated in Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a side view, partially in section, and with parts broken away to illustrate-the condition of the operating mechanism when the switch M blade is in its circuit open position,

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of Figure 3 looking in direction of arrows, I

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken i at the end of the switch blade and showing the high contact pressure producing'mechanism,

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along line VIIVII of Figure 6 looking in direction of arrows,

Figure 8 is an end view with parts broken away. and insection to show further details of construction, and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary side elevation of the stationary contact engaging end of the switch. blade.

In the operation of high voltage disconnecting switches of the type contemplated by the present invention, -.it is desirable that the switch be'so constructed that the movable switch blade will engage the stationary contact with a high contact pressure and where the switch blade is of considerable length, it is also desirable that the switchibiade be movable into. and out of its circuit closed position without requiring the exertion of an excessive operating force by its operating mechanism. In other words, while it is desirable to have a high contact pressure, it is also important that the means provided for attaining this result he of such a character as to not interfere with the free closing and/oropening movement of the switch blade with respect to its cooperating stationary contact. i

For the purpose of illustration, the invention is shown in the drawings as embodied in a single pole switch. It, is to be understood, however, that switches made in accordance with invention may be provided for multiphase circuits by merely mounting any number of these switches side by side upon a suitable support and providing a common operating means therefor.

Reference is now made to Figure 1 of the drawings, wherein the switch contemplated by the present invention is shown as having a blade i0 that is pivotally mounted upon a supporting member ll carried by a stand of insulators I2.

At the outer free end of the switch blade ii there is a stationary contact l3 that is mounted upon a similar'stand of insulators i4. Arranged opposite the stand of insulators l4 and in spaced relation with the stand of insulators l2, there is a third stand of insulators I! which, unlike the stand of insulators l2 and I4, is adapted to be rotated about its vertical axis. At the upper end of the stand of insulators I! there is an operating crank arm l6 that is adapted, through a connecting rod H, to move the switch blade in between its closed and open circuit positions, and to also operate a high contact pressure producing mechanism carried by the switch blade ill, as will hereinafter appear. The upper end of the stand of insulators i5 is shownas iournaled in spaced relation with the stand of insulators l2 by means of a current conducting strut l8 and at its lower end the stand of insulators l5 has an operating lever i9, or othersuitable means, by which it may be rotatedthrough an arc sufllcient to effectively move the switch blade l0 between its open and closed circuit positions, as is well understood in the art.

For the purpose of establishing a connection between the switch and the conductors of a power circuit, the stationary contact l3 carries an outwardly extending terminal 20 to which a line conductor 2i is adapted to be connected and the current conducting strut it has a similar outwardly extending terminal 22 to which a line conductor 23 is adapted to beconnected. In order to complete the circuit between the terminals 20 and 22 in an effectivemanner and provide a good current conducting path between the movable switch blade Ill and the stationary current conducting strut l8, there is a pair of flexible jumpers or shunts 24 through which the current may pass from the current conducting strut l8 to the movable switch blade element. With the switch here illustrated it will be understood that arcing horns of any suitable type may be provided, if desired.

Reference is now made to Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings for a detailed description of the switch blade operating mechanism. As shown in these figures of the drawings, the supporting member II has two spaced up-standing pedestal forming portions between which there is fixed a non-rotatable shaft 25 that provides a pivotal axis about which'the switch blade I0 is movable.

The switch blade ll is carried by anenclosing housing 26 which is iournaled at its sides upon the non-rotatable shaft 25. In addition to the switch blade ill, the enclosing housing 26 also carries an outwardly disposed shaft 21 to which there is fixed a pair of spaced lever arms .28 that connect with the end of the operating rod i1. througha swivel connection 29. These lever arms 28 are positioned one at each end of the shaft 21 and mounted centrally upon the shaft 21 and extending downwardly within the housing 26 there is athird lever arm 30 which is likewise fixed upon the shaft 21 so that the lever arms 28 and 30 will act as a single double ended lever. Located within the enclosing housing 26 and connected with the end of the lever arm there is an axially movable bifurcated member 3| having hri'ed side portions 32 at one end which slidably engage the non-rotatable shaft 25. At its other end the axially movable bifurcated member 3| is connected to an operating rod 33 which extends outwardly through the tubular switch blade ill-and connects witha high contact pressure producing mechanism to be hereinafter de-' scribed. Mounted between its forked side portions 82 the movable bifurcated member 3| carries a cam engaging roller 34 which is adapted to cooperate, as will hereinafter appear, with a stationary concentric cam' 35 located centrally upon the non-rotatable shaft 25. Cooperating with the bifurcated member ii the enclosing housing 26 also carries an adjustable stop 36 that serves to limit the outward movement of the bifurcated member 3!. In order to facilitate an assembly of these parts, the enclosing housing 26 is shown as having a removable cover plate 31. The enclosing housing 26 is also shown as provided with an outwardly extending. arm 38 that'carries an adjustable stop forming means 38 which engages with an abutment 40 upon the supporting member II when the switch blade is in its circuit closed position.

Before proceedingdurther with a detailed description of the high contact pressure producing means provided by the present invention, attention is directed to Figure 2 of the drawings, where it will be noted that the operating crank arm l6 and the third stand of insulators ii are connected together by a shaft 4i which is supported upon bearings 42 carried by the current conducting strut i8. As here shown, the shaft 4i is keyed at its upper end to the operating crank 18 and at its lower end it is keyed to a flanged insulator engaging cap 43.

Reference is now made to Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the drawings for a detaileddescription of the high contact pressure producing means referred to hereinabove as located at the stationary contact engaging end of the tubular switch blade l0. As shown in these f'kures of the drawings, the outer contact engaging end of the tubular switch blade l0 carries a contact making member 44 that has vertical stationary con-tact engaging sides which, together with cover forming plates 45 and 48, form aibox-like structure at the end of the switch blade ID in which the contact pressureproducing means is located. These cover forming plates 45 and 48 are adapted to move axially with respect to the stationary contact l3 when the contact pressure producing mechanism at this end of the switch blade III is operated by movement of the operating rod 33. As shown in Figure 7, the cover forming plates 45 and 48 are engage guide plates 46 and respectively. The guide plates 46 and 43 are shown as secured at one side only to one of the spaced vertical contact engaging sides of the contact member 44 so as not to interfere with a relative movement between these parts. These guide plates 44 and 49 also cooperate with the movable cover forming plates 45 and'46 to maintain the enclosure of the contact pressure producing mechanism which is to be presently described. At this point it will alsdljbe noted that the contact making member 44 carries an end closure plate 50 that serves to complete the enclosure of the contact pressure producing mechanism. This end plate 56, like the guide plates 46 and 49, as illustrated in Fi ure 8, is secured by means of screws II to only one of the vertical sides of the contact member 44 so that the vertical contact engaging sides of th contact member 44 may .move toward and away from each other. At the inner end of the contact member 44 the vertical sides thereof terminate as a tubular extension 62 that is secured in the end of the tubular switch blade l0. Slidablymounted within this tubular extension 62 of the contact member 44 there is a movable pistonlike guide 53 to one side of which the end of the operating rod- 53 is connected. At the other side of the piston-like guide 53 there is an outwardly extending portion 54 that has spaced ears 65 through which the tie-bolt 4! extends.' With this arrangement it will be understood that when the operating rod 33 is moved axially within the tubular switch blade M, the piston-likemember 53 with the extension 64 will be likewise moved and thus carry the tie-bolt 4'! and the cover forming plates45 and 46 axially of the contact member 44. In addition to engaging the tie-bolt 41, the outwardly extending portion 54 of the guide member 53 also supports oppositely arranged spring bars 56 and 61. These spring bars 56 and 51 are loosely secured. upon the extending portion 54 by means of a bolt 54 and extend forment with the blade engaging surfaces 'ofthe sta tionary contact l3. Outwardly with respect to their point of engagement with the anti-friction rollers 59 and 66, the spring bars 56 and 61 are provided with raised wedge or cam forming memhers 6| and 62 which are adapted to be drawn under the anti-friction rollers 56 and 66 when the operating rod 33 ismoved to the right by the switch blade operating mechanism previously described. With this arrangement it will be readily seen that when these wedge or cam forming members 6| and 62 are drawn into alignment with the anti friction rollers 53 and 66, the spring bars 56 and 51 will be flexed intermediate their ends over the tie-bolt 41 and exert a spring action that will tend to move the vertical sides of the contact member 44 away from each other and thus establish a high contact pressure at their points of engagement with the stationary contact l3. Atthe same time the cover forming plates 45 and 46, which are out of engagement with the stationary contact l3, willbe moved axially with respect to the switch blade [0. At thispoint it should be pointed out that the purpose in providing the contact member 44 with these movable cover forming plates 45 and 46 is to dislodge any snow and/or break away any ice which may aczumulate upon the switch at this point.

into a position substantially in alignment with I the opposed sides of the stationary contact l3.

During the reverse operation of the contact pressure producing mrchanism, that isan operation thereof which will remove the contact pressure between the contact member 44 and the stationary contact I! preparatory to an opening of theswitch, these ridges 63 will move outwardly with respect to the stationary contact. l3 and due to their particular configuration they will function to fracture and dislodge any snow or ice which might be present upon the stationary contact [3 at the end of the switch blade Ill. As an additional feature, it will be noted that the stationary contact l3 and the vertical stationary contact engaging sides of the contact member 44 are each provided with cooperating surfaces of silver 64 which, as is well understood in the art, avoids and/or reduces to a minimum the danger of cor-' rosion of these surfacesand insures'a good current conducting contact.

It is believed that the operation of the switch here disclosed will be clearly evident to thoseskilled in the art. However, in order that there be no misunderstanding in this connection, it

may be stated that when the switch is'in its circuit closed position, as illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings, the internalswitch blade operating mechanism will be in the positions illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings, with the cam engaging roller 34 positioned below and in abutting relation with the end of the stationary concentric cam 35. Now, with the operating mechanism in this condition, it will be understood that when the operating crank arm i6 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 2 of the drawings, the connecting rod II will be moved to the right and thus cause the levers 28 and 30 to rotate in a clockwise direction about the shaft 21 carried by the enclosing housing 26.

This movement of the levers 28 and 30 will cause the bifurcated member 3| to move toward the left and carry the cam engaging roller 34 out of abutting relation with the end of the stationary concentric cam 35. At the same time the lever arm 36 will be movedinto engagement with the adjustable stop 36 after which further movement of the connecting rod ll will cause the enclos-- ing housing 26 to rotate about the stationary shaft 25 and thus carry the tubular switch-blade Ill upwardly and out of circuit making engagement with the stationary contact I3. During this operation of the switch blade I, thecam' enstationary adjustable stop 36 carried by the en-,

closing housing 26. Now, with the switch blade ill' in its full open position. as illustrated in I Figure 4 01' the drawings. it will be readily seen that upon a reverse rotation of. the operating Jcrank arm l6 the connecting rod ll will be caused to move to the left and exert a switch blade closing force upon the levers 28 which are connected to .the enclosing housing 28 by the shaft 21. During this closing movement of the switch blade Hi, the cam engaging roller 34 will engage the stationaryca'mji with a rolling contact and thus prevent-any movement of the operating rod 33 which, as has been pointed out, connects with the high contact pressure producing mechanism at the contact engaging end of the switch blade "I. By the time the switch blade Ill has been moved into its horizontal position and in engagement with the stationary contact IS the cam engaging roller 36 will have moved down into a position clear of the concentric stationary cam 36. Further movement of the connecting rod ll will their cause the levers 23 and 30 to rotate with the shaft 27 and move the bifurcated member 3i to the left and thus exert a pulling force upon the operating rod 38. This movement of the operating rod 88 will move the piston-like guide 53 to the right, as viewed in Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings, and as a result the wedge or cam forming members ti and 62 carried respectively by the spring bars 56 and 51 will be drawn into pressure exerting relation with the anti-friction rollers 59 and 66 and thus as a final operation of the switch operating mechanism, establish a high contact pressure between the opposed contact making surface of the stationary contact 13 and ,the contact member as at the end of the switch blade It. At this point it. will be also understood that upon a reverse movement of the operating rod 83 the wedge or cam forming members SI and 62 will be moved out of engagement with .the anti-friction rollers 59 and 80 and-thus permit the sides of the contact member M to assume their normal position where substantially no contact pressure will exist between the stationary contact i3 and the contact member at. After this has occurred, the switch blade it) may be moved out of engagement with the stationary contact IS without requiring any more operating effort than that necessary to move the switch blade i0 into its circuit open position. At the same time it will be understood that the cover forming plates as and 46 will be likewise moved to the left, as viewed in these figures of the drawings. Now, should there be any accumulation of ice upon the stationary contact l3, it will be seen that the ridges 83 provided upon the cover forming plates as and 48 will .move outwardly and exert a fracturing force that will dislodge any accumulation of ice and permit afree opening of the switch under these extreme conditions.

While we have, for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose the invention so that the same can be readily understood, described and illustrated specific devices and arrangements, we desire to have it understood that this invention is not necessarily limited to the specific means disclosed, but may be embodied in other ways that will suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art. It is believed that this invention is new and it is desired to claim it so that all such changes as come within the scope of the appended claims are to be considered as part of this invention.

Having thusdescribed our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In a disconnecting switch of the character described, the combination of a stationary contact having opposed contact making surfaces, a.

switch blade having side portions adapted to be fixed into high contact engagement with the opposed surfaces of said stationary contact, means for flexing the side portions of said switch blade into high contact making engagement with the contact surfaces of said stationary contact, an

operating rod extending longitudinally of the switch blade for actuating said means for flexing the side portions of the switch blade, a cover forming member extending longitudinally of the switch blade and out of engagement with said stationary contact, and means connecting said operating rod with said cover forming member adapted to move said cover forming member longitudinally of the switch blade as said first means is operated.

2. In a disconnecting switch of the character described, the combination of a stationary contact having opposed contact making surfaces, 9. switch blade having side portions adapted to be flexed into high contact engagement with the opp sed surfaces of said stationary contact, means for flexing the side portions of said switch blade into high contact making engagement with the contact surfaces of said stationary contact, an

' operating rod extending longitudinally of the switch blade for actuating saidmeans for flexing the side portions of the switch blade, slidable means mounted at the top and bottom of the switch blade and out of engagement with said stationary contact, and a tie-bolt connecting said operating rod with said slidable means adapted to move said slidable means longitudinally of the switch blade as said switch blade flexing means is actuated by said operating rod.

3. In a disconnecting switch of the character described, the combination of a stationary contact having oppositely disposed contact making surfaces, a pivotally mounted switch blade having vertically disposed sides adapted to be moved into high pressure contact with the opposed surfaces of said stationary contact when the switch blade is in its circuit closed position, opposed antifriction roller means carried by the side portions of said contact member and located in line with the contact forming surfaces of the stationary contact, a longitudinally movable operating rod.

carried by said switch blade, a tie-bolt carried by said operating rod and extending vertically between the spaced sides of said contact member, a pair of spring bars secured at one end to said operating rod and disposed one on each side of said tie-bolt, wedge forming means at the ends of said spring bars adapted to engage the anti-friction roller means carried by the spaced sides of said contact member adapted when moved into engagement with said anti-friction roller means to exert an expanding force that will establish a high contact pressure between the sides of said contact member and the contact forming surfaces of said stationary contact, and means carried by stationary contact having opposed contact sur- I faces, a contact forming member at the end of said switch blade having spaced vertical sides adapted to engage the opposed contact surfaces of said stationary contact. high contact pressure producing means located between the spaced sides of said contact member adapted to exert'an expending force and establish a high contact pressure between the spaced verticalvsides of said contact forming member and said stationary contact, movable means for operating said high contact pressure producing means, cover forming members slidably mounted upon the top and bottom 10 of said contact forming member out changement with said stationary contact. and means connecting said cover forming members with said movable means, whereby said cover forming members will operated to fracture and dislodge ice For other foreign matter as the high contact pressure producing meansisoperated to relieve the high contact pressure prioreto an opening movement of the switch blade;

ARNOLD E. BROCK.

ERNEST H. GRIEIMIMINGER.v 

